Ramboll and Stantec have won the tender to jointly review the design and construction process of the New Champlain Bridge Corridor project in Canada. The two partners will assess the design from end to end to ensure the construction meets the project’s requirements and is completed on time. The deal brings together expertise from the UK and Denmark to further Ramboll’s strategy in the North American market.

The New Champlain Bridge Corridor Project aims to improve the federal section of the Autoroute 15 near the St. Lawrence River, through reconstruction and expansion, as well as a new bridge île des Soeurs across the river. The project is a joint public-private partnership between the Canadian Government and Signature on the St. Lawrence Group. The ‘New Champlain Bridge’ will be a 3.4 km bridge across the main channel of the St. Lawrence River, replacing the now decaying Champlain Bridge, as well as including a cable stay section over the St. Lawrence Seaway. The New Champlain Bridge will enter service in 2018 and the whole Autoroute corridor is expected to be completed in 2019.

To oversee the construction phase of the New Champlain Bridge corridor, Danish engineering consulting firm Ramboll has teamed up with Canadian design consulting firm Stantec.

As part of the project, the two partners will act as independent oversight – reviewing the New Champlain Bridge corridor design from end to end, as well as make sure that construction is on schedule and in line with the requirements of the project plan. Specifically, Ramboll is tasked with the review of the design of the bridge, while Stantec is poised to critically assess the whole Autoroute design as well as make onsite inspections.

This is the second tender involving Ramboll within the wider project. In 2014 the firm, along with Hatch Mott MacDonald and Dessau, tendered a design for the development of the 600 meter long multi-span cable stayed bridge – unsuccessfully. The knowledge gathered from their earlier engagement with the scheme, according to the firm, helped it secure the latest contract. “We are very pleased to have been chosen as Independent Engineer on the New Champlain Bridge Corridor Project which is of crucial importance for the regional economy and for Canada as a whole. The new contract is in line with Ramboll’s strategy for North America where we are pursuing several other larger bridge- and tunnel projects,” explains Lars Thorbek, Head of Ramboll’s department for International Bridges.